Denver’s semifinal against Michigan was nothing short of a classic, taking two overtimes and more than four hours to decide.
The game opened with an offensive surge from Denver and high tension on both sides. The Crimson and Gold fired nine shots in the first five minutes, with brief pushing matches breaking out between nearly every whistle.
Denver got their first opportunity when Michigan’s Tyler Duke was sent to the penalty box for two minutes for holding. The team failed to convert on this man-up opportunity, their first of five unsuccessful power plays in the game.
“Power-play wasn’t good enough,” said Head Coach David Carle in the postgame press conference. “It certainly was a factor in the game being how it was, the lack of momentum and opportunities we created for ourselves on the power-play.”
Denver struck first, scoring less than a minute after its initial power-play ended. Great passing play in a dangerous area saw freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski with the puck right in front of the net. He slipped the puck through the legs of Michigan goaltender Jack Ivankovic to give Denver a 1-0 lead at 9:29 of the first period.
Michigan responded quickly. With 3:42 left in the period, the Wolverines won a faceoff and immediately found Josh Eernisse, who buried the shot to tie the game.
Less than a minute later, a Michigan shot deflected off the back boards and fell to T.J. Hughes, who scored from close range to give the Wolverines a 2-1 lead and all the momentum heading into the first intermission.
Denver answered early in the second period. Just 2:30 in, junior defenseman Cale Ashcroft got the puck and fired from deep for a long range goal to tie the game at 2-2.
The rest of the period was scoreless despite an onslaught of shots from Michigan, which began to pull ahead in shots on goal. Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks made a series of key saves to keep the game even.
The third period opened with full intensity from both sides, with a spot in the national championship game on the line.
Four minutes in, Hicks went down after a collision in front of the net and did not move. The arena held its breath as a trainer rushed onto the ice. Just moments later, Hicks got back up and resumed his position in front of goal.
“Johnny’s tough and a real competitor, and obviously wasn’t fazed by it, so really proud of him and the rest of our team,” said Carle.
Over 10 minutes into the period, freshman defenseman Eric Jameson was given a two minute penalty for cross checking, leaving DU fans on the edge of their seats as the Crimson and Gold tried to hold off a dagger.
Michigan capitalized on the power play, with Jayden Perron scoring to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead with 8:58 remaining, putting them within reach of the national championship game.
Desperate for an equalizer with less than three minutes left, Denver went on the attack. Junior defenseman Garret Brown moved the puck from freshman forward Kristian Epperson, whose shot toward the net found freshman forward Clarke Caswell. Caswell shielded both his defender and the goaltender before slipping the puck into the net to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.
Sudden death overtime became a battle between the goaltenders. Michigan had more shots, but Hicks consistently made tough saves to keep Denver alive. Denver spent less time in the offensive zone, but still created quality chances and forced Ivankovic to make saves.
Hicks finished the game with 49 saves.
The first period of overtime was not enough to separate the two teams. About halfway through the second overtime, the game had stretched beyond 90 minutes, becoming the second-longest semifinal in NCAA tournament history.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity this year. So this group has been through everything and I think that’s made us closer. When you’re going back in the locker room in overtime, double overtime, you just love that group of guys around you. It makes it easy,” said Kent Anderson, senior defenseman and team captain.
With their backs against the wall, the Crimson and Gold fought back. Epperson passed the puck across the ice to Anderson who lined up his shot and ripped it into the goal to win the game for Denver.
“It took everybody to try and get this victory. We’re proud of our group that we have an opportunity to play on Sunday,” said Carle.
Denver will play Wisconsin, which upset North Dakota 2-0 on Thursday, for a chance at its 11th national championship.
